July 21, 2025 • 2:17 pm | GEAR UP
Corinne Smith, director of App State’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, was recognized with the 2025 GEAR UP Professional Leader of the Year award for her passion for and commitment to GEAR UP’s goal of ensuring college access and...
July 13, 2025 • 9:10 pm | GEAR UP
The GEAR UP Guarantee is a guaranteed admissions program to Appalachian State University for students in participating GEAR UP Appalachian programs. If students can maintain a minimum weighted GPA of a 3.25 and meet all the other UNC system requirements for admission,...
July 11, 2025 • 1:10 pm | GEAR UP
Katie Matheson, a 2020 graduate of Ashe County High School, remembers vividly the first time she joined a GEAR UP college bus tour as a student. She visited UNC Greensboro, NC State and UNC Chapel Hill alongside her classmates.This was during one of the very first...
June 30, 2025 • 1:58 pm | GEAR UP
Brenda Palacios Rodriguez never envisioned herself attending college. “I felt like I personally wasn’t worthy of it,” she said, reflecting on how she felt about college before getting involved with GEAR UP. As a first-generation student from an...
June 26, 2025 • 12:14 pm | GEAR UP
What do you get when you cross a slushie machine, Play-Doh, and a gourmet homemade lunch? You get a 6th grade McDowell Technical Community College visit, of course! On Wednesday, June 4, McDowell County 6th graders visited the campus of McDowell Technical...
June 23, 2025 • 3:28 pm | GEAR UP, Through Our Eyes
In this series, we feature individual CAP staff members and dive into their unique perspectives on college access, education, the role of our grant programs in the community, and more. This month, we highlight Wes Calbreath, Assistant Director of College Access...
June 20, 2025 • 4:11 pm | Academic Innovation Conference Highlights, GEAR UP
On Tuesday, June 10 and Wednesday, June 11, 180 educators, administrators, and partners convened at the Reich College of Education at Appalachian State University for the 2025 GEAR UP Academic Innovation Conference, organized by Rachel Nave-Lewis and the AIC...
May 14, 2025 • 12:01 pm | GEAR UP
Peyton Cline always knew that she was going to attend college. Growing up in a family of die-hard Duke fans that prioritized her education, Peyton was primed for postsecondary school from the jump. When GEAR UP was introduced to Peyton as a 7th grader in 2014,...
April 28, 2025 • 3:06 pm | GEAR UP
On Thursday, April 24, the STEAM Expo took place at Swain Middle School for the second year in a row. This event exposed students to different ideas and careers they might have not encountered on their own, with a focus on the categories of science, technology,...
March 26, 2025 • 8:55 am | GEAR UP
In September 2024, western North Carolina experienced what has been described as a once-in-a-100 (to some once-in-1000) year storm. Hurricane Helene hit our region causing flooding, tornados, high winds, landslides, and devastation. In the weeks and months following...
March 14, 2025 • 7:18 pm | GEAR UP
One of the cornerstones of the Appalachian GEAR UP Program is campus visits. Research has shown that when students take trips to college campuses, especially in middle school, they are more likely to enroll in postsecondary education. Appalachian State...
December 12, 2024 • 11:52 am | GEAR UP
Six faculty and staff in the Reich College of Education (RCOE) including two CAP staff members, and five educators from GEAR UP districts will be participating in the Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP). The EPFP program, hosted by the Public...
December 9, 2024 • 7:06 pm | GEAR UP
The GEAR UP L.E.A.D Coalition Program launches its inaugural cohort this month, and 25 student leaders from across western North Carolina have been identified after a rigorous application process. The students represent eight GEAR UP districts and are in their...
October 29, 2024 • 10:15 am | GEAR UP
In light of the devastation and destruction that Hurricane Helene left in its path across Western North Carolina, there has been an overwhelming outpouring of support from the Appalachian community. Over the last few weeks, the Appalachian GEAR UP team has seen...
September 3, 2024 • 4:53 pm | GEAR UP
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a seven-year, $35 million grant to App State’s College Access Partnerships to expand its GEAR UP program for middle school and high school students. The award represents the largest single grant ever awarded to the...
